Last Safe House, The: A Story of the Underground Railroad - Hardcover

Greenwood, Barbara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1550745077 ISBN 13: 9781550745078

Publisher: Kids Can Press, 1998

Synopsis

This is the dramatic story of the Underground Railroad as seen through the eyes of two young girls -- Eliza, a runaway slave from a plantation in Virginia, and Johanna, whose family gives her refuge in St. Catharines, Canada West (now Ontario). In a unique mix of fact and fiction, each chapter is followed by background information and hands-on activities. Kids will learn about life on a cotton plantation, about abolitionists who fought to have slavery made illegal, and about the heroic actions of Canadians who sheltered runaway slaves. Beautifully detailed drawings accompany the text making The Last Safe House a comprehensive, all-in-one resource.

About this title

About the Author

Barbara Greenwood is an award-winning author whose books include Gold Rush Fever, The Last Safe House and A Pioneer Thanksgiving. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Heather Collins has illustrated more than 50 children's books, including the My First Look at Nature series and Gold Rush Fever. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-A book that is part novel, part history lesson, and part activity guide. Surprisingly, Greenwood succeeds on all counts. The story revolves around a Canadian family's participation in the Underground Railroad in 1856. Johanna Reid, 12, must live with Eliza, an escaped slave, as Eliza waits to be reunited with her mother and brother, who did not make it to the safety of the Reids' home. Johanna learns to cope with her own prejudices as she comes to see Eliza as a friend. Interspersed with the girls' story of friendship are brief descriptions of life on a plantation and the Underground Railroad: how it worked, who risked their lives to escape or help others flee, and who profited from catching a fugitive slave. The information is often specific to Canada, but readers in the U.S. will not find the book unbalanced. The activities include songs and storytelling as well as directions for making a cornhusk doll, a lantern for a window (a signal on the Underground Railroad), and gingerbread cookies. Sepia drawings appear on almost every page, giving the book an open look. There is a rather paltry index considering the amount of information relayed. Teachers looking for ideas for a unit on the Underground Railroad and children who are looking for a briefer alternative to novels such as Kathryn Lasky's True North (Scholastic, 1996) will find what they want here.
Carol Fazioli, The Brearley School, New York City, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kids Can Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 1550745077
• ISBN 13: 9781550745078
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 120
• Illustrator: Collins Heather